The first trailer for Lena Waithe’s Twenties has been released. The series is set to premiere on BET in early 2020.
According to the network, the eight-episode series will follow the “adventures of a queer Black girl named Hattie (Jonica “JoJo” T. Gibbs) and her best friends, Marie (Christina Elmore) and Nia (Gabrielle Graham), as they chase their dreams and live life in their twenties.”
Guest stars for the series will include Jenifer Lewis, Sean “Big Sean” Anderson, Rick Fox, Vanessa Williams, Seth Green, Iman Shumpert, Kym Whitley, Chuey Martinez, Marsha Thomason, and Nazanin Mandi.
The series is executive produced by Waithe, Susan Fales-Hill (who will also serve as co-showrunner), Rishi Rajani and Andrew Coles.
View the trailer and check out the character descriptions below:
Jonica “JoJo” T. Gibbs will play “ Hattie,” an aspiring television writer who dreams of glory but seems incapable of holding down a regular job. Not one to sweat the small stuff — like being evicted — Hattie doesn’t let much faze her, and when in doubt or trouble, she turns to her best friends, Nia and Marie for help. She’s a lesbian who always falls for straight women. Out of cash and desperate for a break, Hattie interviews with Ida B., a successful Black television writer/producer who calls her out on some shady tweets Hattie made years prior. But when Ida B. offers Hattie a job as a writer’s PA, Hattie may finally have her foot planted firmly on the ladder of Hollywood success.
Christina Elmore will play “Marie,” a young feature film executive at Monument Pictures with a seemingly perfect life with her seemingly perfect boyfriend, Chuck. One of Hattie’s best friends, Marie does everything by the book, and although she loves Hattie, she is always lecturing Hattie about her carefree lifestyle. She and Chuck reluctantly take in Hattie while she gets on her feet.
Gabrielle Graham will play “Nia,” a “Trinidadian goddess” and “a lady in every sense of the word” who has been taught by her female relatives in the islands to hold herself in high esteem, especially in her dealings with men. Best friends with Marie and Hattie, Nia is an evolved, serene, yet delightfully offbeat yoga instructor who longs to meet her ideal mate and get back to her true passion, acting.
Sophina Brown will play “Ida B.,” an intelligent and sophisticated successful writer and producer, who has made her mark in Hollywood. While a tough lover, she finds a soft spot for Hattie and gives her the opportunity to work on her current show “Cocoa’s Butter.”
Sean Michael “Big Sean” Leonard Anderson will play “Tristan,” a student in Nia’s yoga class. Tristan is a bit of a Luddite; he doesn’t have a cellphone, rejects a lot of modern technology’s triumphs, and he may be more eccentric than Nia can handle. In fact, Tristan is not a wanted criminal who flies under the radar to evade the law, he just believes in leading a natural life without the false dopamine hits that come from selfies and text messages and social media.
READ MORE:
‘Twenties’: Lena Waithe’s ‘Queer Black Girl’ Comedy Ordered To Series At BET
Photo: BET
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